


Annabel

by Theia_Asteria



Category: The Dolls of New Albion: A Steampunk Opera - Shapera
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 11:19:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11184030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theia_Asteria/pseuds/Theia_Asteria
Summary: Flesh and blood. A beating heart. That’s all anyone was.





	Annabel

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Dolls of New Albion](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/299433) by Paul Shapera. 



Flesh and blood. A beating heart. That’s all anyone was. So why was it so hard for her to talk to others? Was she not the same?  


The easy answer was yes. Yes, she was the same as them. She was flesh. She was blood. Last she checked, her heart had a beat. But things are seldom that simple, and Annabel could scarcely make herself look them in the eyes. They passed by her, glancing at the awkward, gangly girl in her gown, fumbling with a scientific instrument so as to avoid their gaze.  


She used to wonder who she’d be were she born under different circumstances. But it was useless to imagine. Her parents were her parents, and this was her life. The daughter of achievers who wanted their child to be the same.  


Her father had wanted a son, that much was true. He hadn’t been overly distraught by the sex of his child, but he certainly wasn’t pleased. A son could inherit the business. A son could carry on a legacy. A daughter… well, her father tried to hide his displeasure. It’s not like he could do anything now.  


Her mother was equally, if not more, distant. Annabel struggled to remember a time her mother conversed with her, and struggled harder yet to think of a time praise had passed her lips. Mrs. McAlistair was silent and withdrawn, preferring to spend her time with her nose in a book rather than with other people.  


Despite the dysfunction of the McAlistair family, nothing was ever said of it. Annabel grew up hearing stories of her ancestors and their accomplishments, of which there were many. So many, in fact, that an entire wing of her father’s library was dedicated to preserving their achievements.  


They were ecstatic when Annabel announced that she would be going to college, and were more than happy to provide her with books and scientific equipment to further her studies. She didn’t mind her classes in the beginning, though she found it hard to speak up in front of her classmates.  


Two years into her schooling, she finally got up her nerve to talk to Jasper. Despite her wishing and wanting, nothing could become of the two of them. He was engaged, and, despite not being in love with his fiancé, that was the end of it.  


It was her conversation with Jasper that made her more confident. She studied harder, learning theory to the point of producing arguments against her professors. They were wrong, she became convinced. Legends spoke of bringing the dead back from life, and she was determined to prove it true. She would be Orpheus, though with significantly more luck than he.  


She never got her chance to prove them wrong. Less than a month later, she was brought before the Headmaster to answer accusations of having stolen corpses. There was no use denying it, and Annabel’s time at university drew to a close.  


Her mother offered some small comfort, if only in her insistence that genius was rarely understood by others. Annabel’s intellect must have simply been too great to have been comprehended by the Headmaster. Her father simply shrugged and agreed with his wife.  


Several months passed, until Annabel found herself without parents. A sickness had been making its way through the citizens of New Albion, and it was too late to save them. Her mother went first, in her sleep, luckily, followed by Annabel’s father three days later. He suffered more, the disease having fermented in his gut and torn him apart from the inside.  


They were the first ones she tried to bring up, although this was to no avail. Something was wrong, Annabel couldn’t quite figure it out, but figured it may have had something to do with their illness. Their bodies were broken and no amount of research nor chanting nor praying could bring them back.  


The experiments continued, growing gradually more successful. The less flesh left, the less Annabel had to reanimate. Replacing parts with metal springs and gears produced better results. Still, no one remained in this world for longer than a few minutes.  


Years went by, and he was gone. Jasper, her one true love. The only man she could ever bring herself to love was gone. Annabel secluded herself in her study for days, too heartbroken to continue her investigations. She would never see him again… unless…  


Eyes still red from crying, Annabel bent and shaped sheets of metal, constructing insides out of gears and wires. She tore apart a radio and connected it to the iron heart. Nothing yet, but the process wasn’t yet done. Some finishing touches and the body was ready. Annabel called up Jasper’s spirit, praying it would find its way to the body.  


Gears whirled and whizzed. The radio began playing a song, although Annabel couldn’t make out the words. It was him; her beloved Jasper, come to her at last. He was neither flesh nor blood. His heart didn’t beat. And yet she’d be able to talk to him, and he would understand her. They were one in the same.


End file.
